Benefits of Responsive Parenting and Nutrition Interventions on Non-Targeted Siblings

A new study assessed the impact of a bundled parenting and nutrition intervention on non-targeted siblings (children) within households. 

This intervention was conducted in Mara, Tanzania, and included components of responsive parenting, infant and young child feeding, and positive couples' relationships – delivered to parents through community health workers. The research was part of a larger cluster-randomized trial––involving mothers, fathers, and one index child under 18 months of age in 80 clusters. In a sub-study conducted between June and July 2021, 222 households (118 in the intervention group and 104 in the control group) with another child under 6 years of age (sibling to the index child) were reenrolled from the main trial. The study compared caregiving practices and child development and nutrition outcomes among siblings in intervention versus control households.

It was noted that intervention siblings exhibited improved expressive language development, dietary intake, and reduced internalizing behaviors compared to their control counterparts. Additionally, caregivers in the intervention group reported greater maternal and paternal stimulation and displayed more responsive caregiving behaviors with sibling children.

Hence, it was inferred that a father-inclusive bundled parenting and nutrition intervention had positive spillover effects on the developmental and nutritional outcomes of non-targeted sibling children within households.

Source: Jeong J, Domonko V, Mendile T, Yousafzai AK. Pediatrics. 2023 Oct 1;152(4).